Patek Philippe “Rare Handcrafts 2024” Collection

29 Apr 2024

As heir to, and guardian of, the great Genevan watchmaking tradition, Patek Philippe has made a point, ever since its foundation in 1839, of perpetuating all the rare handcrafts associated with the decoration of timepieces for almost five centuries. The four generations of the Stern family, which took up the torch in 1932, have also devoted themselves to preserving these precious skills. True to its “tradition of innovation” the manufacture is also intent on enabling all these exceptional techniques to progress, by constantly pushing the boundaries of possibility and drawing on increasingly varied sources of inspiration. Every year a new collection of one-of-a-kind and limited-edition pieces illustrates this alliance of virtuosity and invention.

Variety is the key word

The “Rare Handcrafts 2024” collection (a total of 82 pieces, comprising 27 dome clocks and small dome clocks, 3 table clocks, 9 pocket watches and 43 wristwatches) once again shines the spotlight on a vast range of artistic skills, whether centuries-old techniques (Grand Feu cloisonné enamel, miniature painting on enamel, grisaille enamel, flinqué enamel, paillonné enamel, champlevé enamel, hand engraving, hand-executed guilloché work, or gemsetting) or techniques that are innovating in horology, such as micro wood marquetry and Longwy enamel on faience. And not forgetting the growing number of pieces adorned with what are known as “mixed techniques”, uniting, for example, cloisonné enamel and hand-executed guilloché, or hand-engraving and wood marquetry.

As regards themes, the “Rare Handcrafts 2024” collection is also extraordinarily rich in creativity, drawing on multiple sources of inspiration, with motifs ranging from traditional art forms to modern leisure activities, and with subjects inspired by the cultures and landscapes of every continent.

All the constellations of the zodiac

Calatrava Ref. 5077/100G-066

Calatrava Ref. 5077/100G-070

Calatrava Ref. 5077/100G-069

Calatrava Ref. 5077/100G-073

Twelve Calatrava wristwatches with their dials adorned with grisaille enamel au blanc de Limoges, Grand Feu cloisonné enamel and paillonné enamel representing the constellations associated with the signs of the zodiac. These decorations, drawn from ancient engravings but interpreted in a strikingly modern style with a fascinating sense of depth, are proposed in twelve limited editions of two watches each – such as the pair presenting the constellation Leo (5077/100G-066) or Sagittarius (5077/100G-070), or Scorpio (5077/100G-069) or Pisces (5077/100G-073).

Ref. 995/143G-001

Birds occupy a place of honour in the 2024 collection, with a special emphasis on the graceful white egrets, presented on four pieces by means of various techniques – such as the pocket watch Reference 995/143G-001 “Portrait of a White Egret” depicted in wood marquetry of extraordinary finesse.

Golden Ellipse Ref. 5738/50R-001

Golden Ellipse Ref. 5738/50R-001

On the Golden Ellipse wristwatch 5738/50R-001 “The Japanese Garden (Nihon teien)” the dial was first hand-guilloched with a sunburst motif, designed to create splendid plays of light beneath the translucent enamel of the sky, before receiving its Grand Feu cloisonné enamel decoration. On the Golden Ellipse Reference 5738/50G-035 “Springtime in Holland” the enameller used the same technique to conjure up the shimmer of the water.

World Time Minute Repeater Ref. 5531R-016

The voyage continues through a succession of spa towns and aquatic landscapes – whether the inspiration was Chinese junks in the province of Zhejiang; old sepia-toned postcards of Geneva harbour, rendered here in miniature painting on enamel; a view of the Rialto Bridge in Venice by Canaletto (interpreted in miniature painting on enamel and hand-engraving); or a landscape with Lake Thun, inspired by the great Swiss painter Ferdinand Hodler, gracing a World Time Minute Repeater wristwatch.

Ref. 25025M-001

Ref. 25025M-001

Calatrava Ref. 5089G_146

Calatrava Ref. 5089G_147

Calatrava Ref. 5089G_148

Calatrava Ref. 5089G_149

Four Calatrava wristwatches lend their dials to the most beautiful American cars of the 1960s, depicted in settings evoking the West Coast of the United States.

Ref. 995/142J-001

Calatrava Ref. 5089G-145

Calatrava Ref. 5089G-145

A passion for billiards inspired an unusual modern decor on the pocket watch 995/142J-001 “Billiard Balls”, notably its case back in Grand Feu cloisonné enamel calling for 72.10 cm of gold wire and translucent, semi-opaque and opaque enamels in 40 colors, its hand-engraved motifs, its dial in wood marquetry and its highly original stand in yellow gold adorned with a cue ball in white agate and cues in gold and Macassar ebony. Two Calatrava wristwatches take up the same theme.

Calatrava Ref. 5089G-119

Inspired by one of the world’s very few round-shaped postage stamps, the Calatrava wristwatch 5089G-119 “Southern Brown Kiwi” showcases one of the oldest and most precious of the rare handcrafts: hand engraving. The technique of line engraving was used here to incise the background foliage and the bird in the white gold of the dial. The picture was then coated with translucent green enamel.

Ref. 20157M-001

The dome table clock 20157M-001 “The Muses” in cloisonné enamel enriched with miniature painting on enamel conveys all the magic of the work of the celebrated Czech painter Alfons Mucha (1860–1939), with its stylized vegetal forms and plays of feminine curves. The tribute to painting continues with a “tree of life” after Gustav Klimt, (small dome table clock 10037M-001) and a “pond with white water lilies” after Claude Monet (dome clock 20158M-001).

Ref. 20165M-001

Calatrava Ref. 5077-100G

Among the other sources of inspiration that fired the designers’ imaginations and the artisans’ virtuosity were the tikis of Oceania, roofs in the Burgundian style, the Paris Olympic Games of 1924, the designs of mandalas, the famous French cloth known as toile de Jouy and the fables of La Fontaine.